


Panic Red

by takemyrevolution



Category: Triple Strike
Genre: Gen, Space Pirates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-02-24
Updated: 2010-02-24
Packaged: 2017-10-13 17:52:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/140043
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/takemyrevolution/pseuds/takemyrevolution
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Blinking red lights on control panels are never a good sign, especially when you're in space.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Panic Red

It was a quiet day on _The Merry Swallow_ and Ragnar Ein was bored. No human ships worth robbing had made an appearance. No ma'jenn had attacked lately; which was ultimately good, Ragnar supposed, but it did make life less interesting.

Ragnar amused himself for a while by spinning around in his chair, but eventually tired of that, too. He was still half-heartedly swiveling back and forth when he saw the light blinking.

He froze. Blinking red lights on ships were generally Very Bad Things. Ragnar sat bolt upright and checked his work station screens, starting with life support and working his way down by priority. Life support systems were functioning, no ships were approaching, and sensors weren’t indicating anything usual. As near as Ragnar could tell, everything was fine. He looked at the light again. It was still blinking.

He swore under his breath and checked his station a second time, but didn’t see any problems. “Okay. Stay cool.” He was talking to himself, but no-one else was around to notice, so he didn’t care. “What does that light _do_?”

For the life of him, Ragnar could not remember. Horrible thoughts ran through his mind, mostly involving what the headlines would read when the entire crew died in some freak accident that could have been avoided had their communications officer not forgotten what the Very Important Blinking Red Light of Doom meant.

Ragnar examined the light. It was set into a small panel in the wall and had no writing around it to indicate what it might be for. Ragnar paged Lance.

“What is it?” Lance said, annoyed at having his work interrupted.

“Just come here,” Ragnar repeated. “It’s _important_.”

Ragnar gnawed on one perfectly painted black fingernail and then made himself stop. Lance was an engineer. Lance would know what to do. Lance would save the day.

Three minutes later, Lance was staring at the red light, which had not stopped blinking. After a few moments of intense thought, he pointed at it.

 _Here it is_ , Ragnar thought. _The moment where he says what the problem is and fixes it!_

“I have no idea what that thing is for,” he said.

Ragnar looked aghast. “What?” he said. “But… you’re an engineer! You’re supposed to know these things!”

Lance grumbled unhappily. “Pull up the ship’s schematics,” he said. Ragnar brought up every scrap of information he had for the electrical systems in that part of the ship, but they still couldn’t figure out what the panel was connected to. The two of them wrestled with the problem until Lance gave up and called Ian.

All three men stared at the light.

“You’ve checked all systems?” Ian asked.

“Yes,” Ragnar said. “That was the first thing I did. Everything seems fine.”

“And we’re not having any problems with the engines,” Ian said.

The staring continued.

“Hey,” Lance said. “Wait a minute.”

He grabbed the panel and pulled.

 _Shhhhrrrrip_.

The small plastic square peeled off the wall. Ian narrowed his eyes at the object in Lance’s hand. “Ragnar,” he said. “Put me on the intercom.”

“This is your chief engineer,” Ian’s voice boomed throughout the ship. “I suppose whoever duct taped a _completely useless_ blinking red light to Ragnar’s work station thinks that was funny.” Muffled laughter rippled though the ship, indicating that the party responsible was not the only one who thought it was funny. “Blinking red lights,” Ian continued, “are never funny. When I find you – and I _will_ find you - you won’t be laughing anymore.”

Ian left the crew to ponder his ominous words and returned to engineering, leaving Ragnar at his station.

“Is my shift over yet?” Ragnar whimpered, but no-one was there to hear him.


End file.
